Jacksonville police officers graduate from FBI academy

Jacksonville police Capt. Ashley Weaver, left, and Lt. Teresa White, who graduated recently from the FBI National Academy, reflect on their accomplishments in Jacksonville Oct. 8.

John Althouse / The Daily News

By KATIE HANSEN Daily News staff

Published: Monday, October 14, 2013 at 10:36 AM.

Jacksonville police Capt. Ashley Weaver and Lt. Teresa White are passionate about their jobs — and learning new ways to get better at them.

Weaver and White are the first Jacksonville police officers to graduate from the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Va.

White was the most recent to finish on Sept. 20.

Weaver has been with Jacksonville Police Department for 15 years and is in command of the agency’s field operations, which includes traffic, part-time reserves, special projects, community officers and the community response team. White has been with the JPD for eight years, and she is in charge of the community officers and community response team.

White and Weaver are two of six JPD staff who have graduated from the FBI National Academy: Chief Mike Yaniero, deputy chiefs Tim Malfitano and Patrick Traitor, and Capt. Jason Bettis also finished the course.

Yaniero said when he first arrived at the JPD, he was the department’s only academy graduate.

Jacksonville police Capt. Ashley Weaver and Lt. Teresa White are passionate about their jobs — and learning new ways to get better at them.

Weaver and White are the first Jacksonville police officers to graduate from the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Va.

White was the most recent to finish on Sept. 20.

Weaver has been with Jacksonville Police Department for 15 years and is in command of the agency’s field operations, which includes traffic, part-time reserves, special projects, community officers and the community response team. White has been with the JPD for eight years, and she is in charge of the community officers and community response team.

White and Weaver are two of six JPD staff who have graduated from the FBI National Academy: Chief Mike Yaniero, deputy chiefs Tim Malfitano and Patrick Traitor, and Capt. Jason Bettis also finished the course.

Yaniero said when he first arrived at the JPD, he was the department’s only academy graduate.

The department has since sent a pool of officers to the academy.

“It’s an important development tool,” he said.

Just getting accepted is rigorous and prestigious — beginning with an officer getting selected by his or her agency, then being vetted in a state-wide process according to physical fitness, agency involvement in the program’s alumni association, recommendations and other requisites.

The 10-week National Academy Program, which is held at the FBI Academy, offers advanced investigative, management and fitness training for selected officers with proven records as professionals within their agencies. Courses include law, behavioral science and forensic science. The program’s graduates constitute less than one percent of the nation’s law enforcement.

Participants also learn how to understand terrorism and terrorist mindsets; and they undergo instruction in leadership development, communication, health and fitness.

Weaver said what makes the experience unique and exceptional is the opportunity to train with chiefs, captains, sheriffs, lieutenants and others who were all there as their peers and equals, which made the learning and networking opportunities outstanding.

White said the academy’s environment gave them the opportunity to focus much more on the material than short training days.

Her favorite class was Intelligence Theory, which she said taught them a “different way to look at things, just because there’s A and B, doesn’t mean there’s C next.”

For Weaver, she said the academy helped open her eyes to a more global perspective, showing her how something that affects Jacksonville, N.C., also can affect Jacksonville, Fla.

The academy also focused on the students’ physical fitness and challenged participants with a final obstacle course named the Yellow Brick Road.

When Weaver returned from the academy in 2009, she brought her newly acquired skills and shared professional development, something she said is expected at Jacksonville Police Department.

Weaver used her new skills from the academy to help develop the department’sPublic Information Officer Program.

White will be expected to share her new training and information as well and she says she has plans to help with training in the crime analysis position.

Since its inception in 1935, about 46,300 people have attended the academy program — fewer than 2,000 were women, according to the FBI's website.

White said her entrance into the academy likely was made easier after Weaver’s success.

In fact, Weaver is the Secretary Treasurer of the FBI National Academy Associates N.C. Chapter Incorporated, the state’s alumni chapter of the academy’s graduates. In 2016, Weaver will serve as the chapter’s president.

Both cited strengths women can bring to the force.

“Being a female in general brings a different perspective,” Weaver said. “An emotional perspective — not touchy-feely, but looking at ‘What happened to cause that?’”